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torsdag 20 december 2012

Robert Piguet - Oud

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

Oud by Robert Piguet is, as all five fragrances in the Nouvelle Collection,
created by the Piguet housenose Aurelien Guichard

Oud starts with
an almost animalic note accuented by the dry leather smell of antique books.
Soon the the animalic touch disappears and soft leather, minty herbals and a
green, woody notes takes the center of the stage. The pepper typical for the
syntetic oud also appears but in a very balanced way, not overwhelming, at all,
just a gentle touch. As Oud is a linear fragrance, it also continues like
described during the whole dry down. Comfortable and pleasant. To my nose the
topnotes is the most interesting part of Oud and I wish the initial animalic
touch would be present also in the basenotes. To me Oud is somehow the Oud of
the cold north. When I smell it, I can imagine the snowy, coniferous forests of
the Nordic countries in the middle of a hard winter.

Oud doesn’t
follow the most common rose-saffran-oud path, instead it follows the
alternative track the colder, leather, herbal, oud. The latter is, to western
standards, more masculine than the former oudstructure, which is a masculien
one in the Middle East. Oud is a versatile and good everyday oud, not extreme
in any sense and a good “beginners oud”. Oud is the oud-herbal-leather
equivalent to the everyday rose-saffron-oud Juliette Has A Gun Midnight Oud, which also is a good and
wearable “beginners oud”. Sillage is quite impressing and longevity is for 24h.

Oud was the
fragrance within the Nouvelle Collection that I had highest expectations about before
I started sampling. Despite Oud is a well made, balanced, comfortable and very
wearable fragrance, it turned out to be the one that moved me at least. Maybe
it’s just too perfect and to me BoisNoir is a notch more interesting when comparing the two Robert Piguet woods
in the Nouvelle Collection.

Rating: 4 (Dec 2012) 4+ (April 2013)

Notes: Saffron, fir balsam, styrax, myrrh, woody notes, oud, patchouliUpdate April 2013: Probably my testingexperience of RP Oud in December was affected by the outbreak of the worst flu I have had in 10+ years just a few days later. Now I feel it's nuances better and i doubt it's a beginners oud any more. The animalic notes are for example still present in the basenotes, blended with the cold confierstyled woody smell and the oud that feels somehow cold in this creation. There is also an almost leathery/metallic accord that reminds me of a sort of darker interpretation of the great Frapin Speakeasy.

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About me

I've been interested in perfumes as long as I can remember. I also like to write. Therefore in 2006 I started my first perfume blog "Parfumistans Dagbok" (Parfumistans Diary), see posts under "Perfume Related" below. During 2007-2010, there was my blog "Parfumistans blog" on the leading swedish fashion magazine "Damernas Världs" website. Now my perfumeblogging is continued here.